American Pageant 17th Edition: Chapter 28 - Key People & Terms

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt

President from 1901-1909, key figure in the Progressive Era, known for the Square Deal, trust-busting, and environmental conservation.

William Howard Taft

Roosevelt's successor, known for continuing trust-busting but clashing with Roosevelt over issues like tariffs and conservation.

Woodrow Wilson

President elected in 1912, promoted the New Freedom platform, emphasizing antitrust reforms, tariffs, and banking reforms.

Jane Addams

Social reformer who founded Hull House in Chicago, a leader in the settlement house movement, and women's rights advocate.

Robert M. La Follette

Governor of Wisconsin, led progressive reforms like public utility regulation and corporate control.

Ida M. Tarbell

Muckraking journalist who exposed the unethical practices of Standard Oil in her famous exposé.

Jacob Riis

Journalist and photographer who exposed the poor living conditions of New York's slums in How the Other Half Lives.

Lincoln Steffens

Muckraker who exposed municipal corruption in his work The Shame of the Cities.

Upton Sinclair

Author of The Jungle, which exposed unsanitary conditions in the meatpacking industry, leading to food safety reforms.

Hiram Johnson

Governor of California, progressive leader who broke the Southern Pacific Railroad's political influence in the state.

Charles Evans Hughes

Governor of New York, gained fame for investigating the malpractices of gas and insurance companies.

Florence Kelley

Advocate for labor reform, became Illinois's first chief factory inspector and led the National Consumers League.

Louis D. Brandeis

Lawyer in Muller v. Oregon, helped establish the constitutionality of labor laws protecting women workers.

David G. Phillips

Muckraker who exposed corruption in the U.S. Senate with his series The Treason of the Senate.

John Spargo

Exposed the horrors of child labor in his work The Bitter Cry of the Children.

Thomas W. Lawson

Exposed stock market corruption in his series Frenzied Finance, though he made enemies among his peers.

Frances E. Willard

Founder of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), a leader in the temperance and anti-liquor campaigns.

Gifford Pinchot

Head of the U.S. Division of Forestry, close ally of Roosevelt, key figure in the conservation movement.

John Muir

Naturalist and leader of the Sierra Club, advocated for the preservation of wilderness, opposed the damming of Hetch Hetchy Valley.

J.P. Morgan

Financial titan, targeted by Roosevelt for creating monopolies, such as the Northern Securities Company.

George F. Baer

Spokesperson for coal mine owners during the Anthracite Coal Strike, refused to negotiate with workers.

Booker T. Washington

African American leader invited to dine with Roosevelt at the White House, sparking controversy.

Victor L. Berger

Socialist elected to Congress from Milwaukee during the 1910 election, reflecting the reformist mood of the era.

William Jennings Bryan

Democratic nominee for president in 1908, a populist who supported progressive reforms but lost to Taft.

Eugene Debs

Socialist candidate for president in 1908 and 1912, labor leader and advocate for workers' rights.

Philander C. Knox

Secretary of State under Taft, proposed the unsuccessful plan to buy Manchurian railroads as part of Dollar Diplomacy.

Richard Ballinger

Secretary of the Interior under Taft, whose policies on land use led to the Ballinger-Pinchot controversy.

Ray Stannard Baker

Muckraker who exposed racial inequality in his work Following the Color Line.

Henry Demarest Lloyd

Critic of the Standard Oil Company, wrote Wealth Against Commonwealth.

Thorstein Veblen

Economist who criticized the leisure class in The Theory of the Leisure Class.

Key Events and Descriptions

Greenback Labor Party (1870s)

A precursor to the progressive movement, advocated for labor rights and monetary reform.

Populist Movement (1890s)

A rural-based movement that fought against corporate monopolies and influenced later progressive reforms.

Anthracite Coal Strike (1902)

A coal miners' strike in Pennsylvania that led Roosevelt to intervene, marking a shift in government response to labor disputes.

Muckraking Movement (Early 1900s)

Investigative journalists exposed corruption, social injustices, and corporate greed, spurring public demand for reforms.

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)

A deadly fire in a New York factory that killed 146 workers, leading to labor safety reforms.

Direct Primary Elections

Progressive reform aimed at giving citizens more control over nominating candidates, reducing the influence of party bosses.

Initiative, Referendum, and Recall

Progressive political reforms that allowed citizens to propose laws, approve/reject laws, and remove officials from office.

Seventeenth Amendment (1913)

Established the direct election of U.S. Senators, replacing the system where state legislatures selected senators.

Meat Inspection Act (1906)

Enacted after Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, this act enforced federal inspection of meatpacking plants.

Pure Food and Drug Act (1906)

A companion to the Meat Inspection Act, it aimed to prevent the sale of misbranded or adulterated food and drugs.

Elkins Act (1903)

Imposed penalties on railroads that gave preferential rebates and on the shippers who accepted them.

Hepburn Act (1906)

Strengthened the Interstate Commerce Commission by regulating railroads and setting maximum rates.

Northern Securities Case (1904)

Supreme Court case where Roosevelt successfully broke up J.P. Morgan's railroad monopoly.

Newlands Act (1902)

Funded irrigation projects in the arid western states, part of Roosevelt's conservation efforts.

Hetch Hetchy Controversy (1913)

Debate over whether San Francisco could dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, highlighting tensions between preservationists and conservationists.

Roosevelt Panic (1907)

A financial panic blamed on Roosevelt's regulatory policies, which paved the way for monetary reforms like the Aldrich-Vreeland Act.

Federal Reserve Act (1913)

Created the Federal Reserve System, establishing a more flexible and stable currency.

Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy (1910)

A public dispute over land conservation policies, leading to a rift between Roosevelt and Taft.

Election of 1912

A pivotal election between Woodrow Wilson (Democrat), Theodore Roosevelt (Progressive), and William Howard Taft (Republican), resulting in Wilson's victory.

Muller v. Oregon (1908)

Supreme Court case where attorney Louis D. Brandeis successfully argued for laws protecting women workers, marking a victory for labor reforms.

Lochner v. New York (1905)

Supreme Court case that struck down a New York law limiting bakers' work hours, seen as a setback for labor reform.

Payne-Aldrich Tariff (1909)

A tariff reform bill signed by Taft that disappointed progressives by raising certain tariffs instead of reducing them.

New Nationalism

Roosevelt's progressive philosophy advocating for federal regulation of business and social justice reforms.

New Freedom

Wilson's platform in 1912, focused on breaking up monopolies and encouraging free competition.

Dollar Diplomacy

Taft's foreign policy strategy that encouraged U.S. investment in foreign countries, particularly in Latin America and China, to promote U.S. interests.